WELCOME TO LOCH LOMOND

Mile upon mile of pure clean water, interrupted by a generous sprinkling of verdant islands that appear to float on its silvery surface, fringed with gentle rolling pastures and rugged highland peaks that cradle a network of hidden glens and passes. Here are the sites of many ancient clan feuds, and daring raids and highland gatherings. The clear waters are encircled by picturesque villages that nestle beside sand and shingle beachs.

All of this and more makes up the enchantment that is Loch Lomond.

Formed over 10,000 years ago in the last ice age when a huge glacier thrust its way southward, the loch boasts no less than 38 named islands known as inches (from the Gaelic word Innis). The loch is Britain's biggest inland stretch of waterway (27.45 square miles). It is 23 miles in length, over 5 miles wide at its broad southern reaches and more than 600 feet deep opposite Tarbet, in its fijord-like northern finger.

Loch Lomonds long reputation as one of the world's most romantic places has passed down through each generation of travellers that have explored its bonnie banks and braes. Many famous writers, including William Wordsworth and Gerald Manley Hopkins, have praised its scenic beauty, but perhaps the most notable words ever written about the loch were penned by a condemed Jacobite prisoner in Carlisle Jail who lamented the fact that he would never again meet his true love on the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch lomond. The world famous song's references to the 'High Road' and 'Low Road' represent the normal early route to the loch and the supernatural pathway by which his spirit would return to Scotland after his execution.

The character of Loch Lomond is shaped by the Highland Boundary Line - a massive geological fault that separates the Scottish Highlands from the Lowlands. The fault runs directly across the loch and is most visible from Balmaha on the east shore or from Mid Ross near Luss on the west shore. From either of these vantage points the path of the fault across the loch is marked by the islands of Inchmurrin, Torrinch, Creinch and Inchcailloch that rise from the water like gigantic stepping stones.

Several of the pleasure cruises available around the loch provide an opportunity to see some of these beautiful islands at close quarters. Cruising is undoubtedly one of the most popular pastimes for visitors to Loch Lomond and there are regular trips from Balmaha, Balloch, Luss and Tarbet.

As well as providing enjoyment for generations of visitors, Loch Lomond's precious environment is an important haven for a rich diversity of plant and animal life, protected under the new Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park. Islands, lochshore, hilltops and water each have their own special habitats. Species range from the traditional, such as deer, capercallie and buzzard to the downright bizarre, such as a colony of wallabies! The loch itself has more species of fish than any other loch, including the powan(a sort of fresh water herring) and offers some fine game and coarse fishing.

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